The Self Help Resources station focuses on enabling internal clients to resolve defined legal needs independently, without requiring direct legal involvement each time — while remaining fully aligned with legal policy and risk controls.

This station on the Internal Client Line  represents the most advanced expression of internal client enablement. It is not about “deflecting work” away from legal.

It is about industrialising legal capability so that routine, repeatable, and low-risk matters can be handled safely by the business.

In high-performing legal teams, self help resources are not optional add-ons. They are core delivery infrastructure.

The Self Help Resources station should enable legal to:

◼️ Identify Self-Service-Suitable Work: Target low-risk, repeatable scenarios.

◼️ Define Safe Boundaries: Clear guardrails on what can be done without legal.

◼️ Embed Legal Expertise into Tools: Encode approved positions and guidance.

◼️ Reduce Dependency on Legal: Free capacity for higher-value work.

◼️ Support Faster Business Execution: Eliminate unnecessary waiting.

◼️ Maintain Risk Control: Self help does not mean loss of oversight.

◼️ Integrate with Other Stations: Aligned with playbooks, training, and LSRFs.

◼️ Drive Consistency: Same answer every time.

◼️ Scale Legal Capability: Growth without linear headcount increases.

◼️ Continuously Improve: Tools evolve with insight and usage.

A mature self help ecosystem is multi-layered. Different tools serve different user needs and risk profiles:

◼️ Chatbots & AI Assistants: Front-line guidance and triage.

◼️ Checklists: Task-based execution support.

◼️ Playbooks: Structured guidance for common scenarios.

◼️ Self-Serve Training Modules: Short, targeted learning at point of need.

◼️ How-To Guides: Step-by-step execution instructions.

◼️ Pre-Approved Templates: Documents with locked legal positions.

◼️ Smart Schedules: Schedules that drive intuitive high quality completion.

◼️ Decision Trees: Guided legal decision pathways.

◼️ FAQs: Plain-English answers to recurring questions.

◼️ Legal Knowledge Hubs: Centralised resource libraries.

◼️ Automated Forms: Guided data capture and document generation.

◼️ Expert Directories: Clear routing when escalation is required.

◼️ Policy Summaries: Simplified explanations of legal rules.

◼️ Embedded Guidance: Contextual help within business systems.

Each tool reduces friction without eroding legal control.

The Self Help Resources station is considered a Repeater and a  Specialist resource within the GLS Legal Operations model.

A Foundational Resource: Is responsible for determining the overall performance capabilities of a “critical” legal function. If it is not optimised, the function can never be optimised. 

A Repeater Resource: Supports the performance of multiple "critical" legal functions and as such represents a "ripple effect" productivity intervention point. 

A Specialist Resource: Is responsible for driving the performance of a very specific part of an individual legal function. Its productivity contribution is limited to that single legal function. 

Best practice Self Help Resources demonstrate:

◼️ Clear Eligibility Rules: What can and cannot be self-served.

◼️ Policy Alignment: Tools reflect approved legal positions.

◼️ Client-Centric Design: Built for non-lawyers.

◼️ Embedded Escalation: Easy path to legal when needed.

◼️ Consistency: Same outcome regardless of user.

◼️ Accessibility: Easy to find and use.

◼️ Lifecycle Governance: Content reviewed and refreshed.

◼️ Usage Analytics: Adoption and effectiveness measured.

◼️ Security Controls: Appropriate access management.

◼️ Leadership Endorsement: Reinforced as the default way to work.

Self Help Resources deliver business value by:

◼️ Accelerating Execution: Work progresses without delay.

◼️ Reducing Friction: Fewer unnecessary legal touchpoints.

◼️ Lowering Risk: Guardrails prevent error.

◼️ Empowering Teams: Confidence to act independently.

◼️ Improving Consistency: Predictable outcomes.

◼️ Reducing Cost: Lower internal and external legal spend.

◼️ Supporting Growth: Scale without legal bottlenecks.

◼️ Improving Satisfaction: Legal feels enabling, not obstructive.

◼️ Enhancing Governance: Policy is operationalised.

◼️ Improving Productivity: Less waiting, more doing.

For the legal department, Self Help Resources provide:

◼️ Capacity Release: Less repetitive work.

◼️ Higher-Value Focus: Lawyers spend time where it matters.

◼️ Stronger Risk Control: Approved positions enforced.

◼️ Operational Leverage: One-to-many delivery.

◼️ Better Demand Quality: Fewer basic questions.

◼️ Improved Morale: Less firefighting.

◼️ Transformation Enablement: Structured assets support automation.

◼️ Data for Insight: Usage informs improvement.

◼️ Consistency of Advice: Reduced variation.

◼️ Scalable Maturity: Performance holds at volume.

Self Help Resources are essential for:

◼️ Commercial & Sales Teams

◼️ Procurement Teams

◼️ Operations Teams

◼️ Project & Transformation Teams

◼️ Product & Marketing Teams

◼️ Finance Teams

◼️ People & HR Teams

◼️ Risk & Compliance Functions

◼️ Legal Operations Teams

◼️ All Internal Clients

Where Self Help Resources are absent or underdeveloped, organisations experience:

◼️ Legal Bottlenecks: Everything queues with legal.

◼️ Slow Execution: Business waits unnecessarily.

◼️ Inconsistent Outcomes: Advice varies by lawyer.

◼️ Higher Risk: Uncontrolled workarounds emerge.

◼️ Burnout: Legal teams are overloaded.

◼️ Poor Scale: Growth breaks the model.

◼️ Low Policy Adoption: Guidance is ignored.

◼️ Client Frustration: Legal is seen as a blocker.

◼️ Missed Automation: No structured inputs.

◼️ Stalled Performance: Maturity plateaus.

Supporting Self Help Resources requires:

◼️ Knowledge Platforms: Centralised access.

◼️ AI & Chatbot Capabilities: Guided support.

◼️ Template & Clause Controls: Locked positions.

◼️ Workflow Integration: Embedded at point of need.

◼️ Usage Analytics: Measure impact.

◼️ Access Controls: Role-based visibility.

◼️ Scalability: Enterprise-wide deployment.

◼️ Security: Protection of legal content.

◼️ Content Governance: Controlled updates.

◼️ Change Enablement: Continuous evolution.